Witch Hunt
by AttackOnWushuDragon
Summary: Levi Rivaille is a witch living in a village where such creatures are not tolerated and must be burned. Before burning, he escapes and strikes fear into those who were there to witness the escape/burning. Levi disappears into the forests, never to be seen again for the next five years. But in the span of those five years, a young boy is born that will change Levi's life forever
1. Chapter 1

In a village surrounded by rolling hills, deep lakes and dark, dense forests, a man by the name of Levi Rivaille was tied to a wooden cross, piles of wood surrounding him. A tall priest carrying a burning torch stepped forward.

"Levi Rivaille" the man stated. Levi stared at him with his silver-gray eyes, face lacking in emotion.

"We all know of what a noble man you are, you acts of good dead are unmatched. But lately we've been getting word that you are using magic…which is forbidden. Now, if you just confess that you are no witch, then we shall have no reason to burn you alive" the priest said smiling.

Levi scoffed, shaking his head. Of course he was a witch and he used magic to almost everything.

_'I must be getting sloppy'_ he thought.

He looked around at all of the spectators that had come to watch the burning and he scowled. He looked at the priest and spat in his face. The priest realed back, wiping his face.

"I'd rather die than confess that" Levi growled.

The priest growled as well and raised the torch.

"Then so be it!" the priest screamed, throwing the torch down into the pyre.

Before the flames even reached the wood, Levi tore at the bindings at his wrist and broke free, jumping into the air. Everyone gasped and Levi smirked, descending into the crowd, who parted for him in a heart beat. He chuckled and ran as fast as he could, hearing shouts as soon as the many villagers snapped out of their shock. Levi sighed and shook his head, sprinting faster into the dark forests. He grinned, knowing that the villagers wouldn't dare follow him into the forests, for it was too dark, and too dense for even the slightest bit of sunlight to shine through the thick leaves.

As the shouting finally began to fade, Levi slowed his pace until he was at walking speed. He walked over to the nearest tree and leaned against it, catching his breath.

"Damn villagers…don't they know how to mind their own business…" Levi muttered as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. He chuckled and held out his hand, a red flame appearing above his palm.

"When the time comes…I'll take care of them" he snickers as he crushes the flame and walks deeper into the forest, never to be seen again for five years. But in the span of those five years, a young boy was born.


	2. Chapter 2

Five years ago a witch by the name of Levi Rivaille was sentenced to burn on the pyre for casting magic in a village where magic was forbidden. But before he was burned alive, Levi escaped, much to the horror of the villagers. He was chased to the edge of the village, only to enter the dark forest that surrounded the tiny town. The villagers dared not follow him, for they were afraid that he would use his magic and twist the forest into a death trap. So they left him there, to rot or to survive, they didn't care. But after he entered, Levi never once set foot out of that forest in five years. And in those five years, peace reigned. A little boy was also born in that five year period of peace. The boy's name was Eren. Eren Jaeger. He was a happy little boy, and had a loving family. Well, he did for the first four years of his life. At the age of five, his world slowly began to crumble.

One day when he returned home, he came upon his mother and father arguing rather loudly. Now being the innocent child that he was, he was never one for shouting and violence. He tried to shout in his small voice for them to stop, but they paid him no mind. Eren rushed up to his father's coat and tugged on it, only angering his father more. His father turned on him, and in his blind anger, slapped Eren across the cheek. Eren's eyes widened, and he rushed out the door, clutching his cheek. Of course his father had no idea what he had just done, but he didn't really care. He just turned back to his wife and started shouting at her again.

Eren rushed out of the house and ran. His eyes were blurred with tears, so he couldn't really see where his tiny little legs were carrying him. He continued to run until the sun suddenly disappeared. Eren looked up and gasped in fear. He had led himself to the dark forest, where wicked creatures lurked, and dark things hunted. As he was looking around him fear, he didn't see a figure drop from the tree tops above.

"What's a brat like you doing in such dark woods like these?" Eren heard a voice call out from behind him.

He spun around to see a dark figure hiding in the shadows. He gulped and slowly backed away. The figure walked towards him and came into the dim light. Eren saw that it was a man, who was much older than him. Eren sniffed and wiped his eyes.

"My parents are fighting really loudly…" Eren whispered.

The man smirked.

"Adults do that all the time kid. You should be used to it by now."

Eren sniffed again. "B-but…they never fought before" he whimpered.

The man raised an eyebrow. _What parent doesn't fight during a relationship? Weird._ He looked down at Eren.

"What's your name, brat?"

Eren sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"Eren Jaeger."

He looked up at the man.

"What's your name, mister?"

The man smiled half-way.

"Levi Riaville."

Eren looked around at the forest.

"Do you live here mister Levi?"

Levi blanked for a second. Did he? He wasn't really sure.

"Yeah, sure I do kid" Levi said, shrugging. Eren's eyes widened.

"Wah, really?! Where do you sleep?" he asked, stepping closer to Levi.

Levi blanched slightly and took a small step back.

"Up in the branches of the trees" he replied.

Eren frowned.

"But Mister Levi…isn't that uncomfortable?"

Levi had to laugh at the kid's concern for where he slept. "

"Sometimes, but I've gotten used to it."

He then looked up to see that the sky was getting darker.

"Hey, brat." Eren looked up at him. "

"Yes, Mister Levi?"

Levi had to smile softly.

"It's getting pretty late. I'm sure your parents have stopped fighting and are now worried to where you ran off to. You should get home."

Eren gasped and looked up at the sky as well.

"You're right, Mister Levi! I have to get going! Good bye!" he said, running away from him.

"Wait, Jaeger!" Levi called out.

Eren came to a halt and turned around.

"Yes, Mister Levi?"

Levi shook his head.

"It's Levi. Don't call me Mister Levi, understand? And if you ever need someone to run to, I'm right here, alright? Just call my name."

Eren smiled, a sweet innocent smile.

"Alright, Mi-Levi" he said, bowing.

Levi nodded and Eren rushed out of the forest back to his home.

When he arrived home, his mother quickly scooped him up and covered him in kisses.

"Eren! Where have you been? Your father and I have been worried sick!" she shouted, hugging him tightly.

Eren's father nodded, he really wasn't a man with much to say.

"I just….ran into the forests. That's all" Eren replied.

Eren's mother and father gasped.

"Eren! It's dangerous to go in there alone! You could have died! People say that dark things lurk there and like to snatch little children away from their parents. Do you want that to be you?!" his mother shrieked.

Eren shook his head.

"No mother."

Eren's mother smiled and breathed a breath of relief.

"Well, you're home safe now, so we can eat dinner."

As they were eating, Eren didn't notice the dark, accusing stares his mother was giving his father, while his father gave sharp warning glares back at her. He was just happy that they weren't fighting and his family had peace once more. When they were finished, Eren went to the washroom to clean up and get ready for bed. When he was in his pajamas, his mother came and tucked him into bed, kissing his forehead. He smiled at her as she left, shutting the door behind her.

Just as he had shut his eyes, the shouting began again. Eren's eyes snapped open, and he looked towards the door. The screams and shouts were getting louder by the second and Eren was growing more and more afraid. When he heard a smashing of glass and the sound of a body thumping to the ground, he nearly lost it. He quickly turned towards the window in his room, stood up on his bed to unlatch it, and pushed it open, letting the night air blow through his room. He stepped onto the head board of his bed and hoisted himself onto the window ledge, maneuvering himself so that he could easily get out of the house without making a sound.

When he had successfully dropped to the dirt ground, he took off towards the forest. He reached it, covering his face to protect himself from braches that nicked at his neck and arms.

"LEVI!" he shouted.

No answer.

Eren began to grow scared.

"LEVI!" he shouted again.

Still no answer.

Eren whimpered and hugged himself, the night air slicing through his thin night clothes.

"LEVI!" he shouted once more.

When no answer came, he dropped to his knees, hugging himself and crying.

"Brat?" he heard a voice call out.

He looked up to see Levi standing in front of him with a confused look on his face. Eren stood up and rushed over to Levi, clinging to his leg, sobbing.

"Brat, Jaeger, what happened? What's going on?" Levi asked, his voice full of concern as he placed a hand on Eren's head.

Eren looked at him, tears flowing down his face.

"M-Mother and F-Father are fighting and….I think F-Father hit M-Mother with a v-vase or something glass, for I heard shattering and a body dropping" he sobbed into Levi's pants.

Levi frowned, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't very good at comforting people, especially kids. But something about Eren just made him want to him. Levi sighed and bent down, enveloping Eren's small frame. Eren latched onto Levi's neck, sobbing into it. Levi rubbed Eren's back in a calming manner, trying to soothe him.

"It's alright, brat, you're safe with me."


	3. Chapter 3

After a few good minutes of heart wrenched crying, Eren finally cried himself to sleep in Levi's arms. Levi just holds Eren as the boy's eyes grow tired and his head slumps down onto Levi's shoulder. Once he's sure that Eren is fully asleep, he stands up and carries the boy to a nearby tree. He looks up and in a split second, he disappears in a burst of dark mist and appears on a rather high branch. He places Eren down, the sleeping boy's head lolling to the side, snoring softly. When Levi was sure that Eren was safe at such a height, he jumped down from the branch and landed on all fours, almost with cat like grace. He stood up, brushed himself off, and started walking in the direction of Eren's home.

When he arrived, he stared at the lavish cottage.

"Expensive brat" Levi muttered as he walked up to the door and pushed on it. It swung open with ease, and he walked inside. He looked around, taking in all of the pictures of the young family, and the small detail that was throughout the house. As he continued walking, he heard a "crunch" and a cracking of glass underneath his feet. He stopped and looked down, only to see Eren's mother surrounded by glass shards and a large pool of blood. He tsked, and dropped to one knee, reaching down and feeling her neck for a pulse. When no pulse is found, he quickly stood up and walked away, searching the other rooms for Eren's father. There he found him, head down on the table, an empty bottle of wine grasped tightly in his hand. Levi tsked and continued to search the house for Eren's room. When he found it, he frowned. The room was rather small, only a small bed, a small desk and a medium size window. Nothing else. Levi noticed that the window was wide open, so he walked over to it, jumped on the bed and peered out.

'_So this is how the brat got out…' _Levi thought. He humphed and jumped off the bed, grabbing the sheet off of it and walking back to the hallway where he draped it over Eren's mother's corpse. He shuddered and exited the house, shutting the door behind him, calmly walking back to the woods like he hadn't seen anything.

When he returned, he looked up to see Eren still asleep on the high branch. He chuckled and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and appeared once more on the branch. He picked up Eren's small body and transported themselves back down to the forest floor. He set down the boy and gently shook his shoulder. Eren yawned and opened his eyes to see Levi staring at him.

"Oi. Wake up brat" Levi ordered. Eren nodded and rubbed his eyes, clearing his blurry vision. Levi smirked when all of the sleep exited the boy's eyes.

"Now, tell me, do you know what magic is?" Eren's eyes widened.

"It's a dangerous creation that is used by dark creatures to hurt the human race" he said, eyes shining proudly. Levi laughed.

"It's dangerous, yes, if you use it in the wrong way" he said, forming a small ball of blue flames in his palm. Eren gasped and looked at Levi with wide eyes.

"How did you do that?! Is that..magic?" he whispered, reaching out to touch the flame. Levi smirked, he was glad that the child wasn't afraid of it, but rather…curious.

"Yes, this is magic. Go on, touch it. It won't burn you" Levi coaxed, bending down to place the flame at Eren's level. Eren's eyes sparkled and reached out to the flames, which licked at his fingers. Eren giggled, the flames tickled him.

"Hold out your hand Jaeger" Levi said. Eren nodded and held out his palm. Levi bit his lip and hoped this would work. He tipped his hand down and let the flame slide onto Eren's tiny palm. He held his breathe, hoping that he would be able to teach someone who wasn't a witch the art of magic. Eren stared at the flame in his hand, amazed that it was floating…in his own palm. Levi released his held in breathe, and sighed in relief.

"Very good brat. Very good" he nodded in approval. Eren looked up at Levi and beamed, happy to get a praise from the stoic man. As Eren continued to play with the fire, Levi grinned darkly to himself.

_'Now the real challenge begins'_


End file.
